Length of time in an LV
With no prior mobile living experience, the longest we've spent in our LV was one-year, camping and traveling.
Places Visited
California
Harvest Host visits at 43 Ranch Olive Oil in San Ardo and Heretic Brewing Company in Fairfield
Camping stays in Ventura Beach, Kelseville and Arcata.
Oregon
Cape Blanco State Park in Port Orford and South Beach State Park in Newport.
Washington
Cape Disappointment State Park in Ilwaco, Grayland Beach State Park in Grayland, Dosewallips State Park in Brinnon, Coho Campground on Wynoochee Lake in the Olympic National Forest, Fort Worden State Park in Port Townsend and Maryhill State Park on the shores of the Columbia River near Goldendale.
Lifestyle
Both my wife and I are retired with two adult children. Some of our trips are just the two of us in which we coordinate with friends who own trailers and campers to meet at nearby campsites. Whenever possible, one of both of our children accompany us on our camping excursions. We consider our LV to be our comfortable home away from home that we can use as a base camp to explore nature and be off-grid and away from the constant intrusions of modern daily life.
As an amateur astronomer, getting out of the city and into areas with a dark sky has great benefits. I have a Unistellare Vscope, which is lightweight, portable, and very easy and quick to set up and use to explore deep sky objects in the heavens above. I took one photo of the Great Nebula in Orion in 2022 (below). We are also big movie buffs, and when we are off-grid, we often set up the spare bed and get cozy while we pop in one of our DVD’s.
Favorite Features and Upgrades
1. At 6’2”, I appreciate the bathroom shower experience. Nothing turns me off more than feeling cramped inside a shower, and the spacious shower and skylight in the LV were a huge selling point for me.
2. The convenience of having all the appliances of a typical home plus, a large refrigerator unit makes it easy to be away for an extended period of time without having to make trips into town to do laundry/shopping.
3. The insane amount of storage capacity in the LV makes it possible to customize your off-grid lifestyle to suit your needs.
4. We put in a cat door to lead to a litter box located in the under-storage of the LV, and we added a safe in the closet to store our computers when we left the LV.
Tips for Newbies
Other than renting a Class B RV for three days, we had no prior experience. The training we received from LV made us more comfortable taking on this adventure. If you are new to trailering, get some training on how to travel and maneuver your LV. LV has some excellent trainers to hook you up for training. It made a big difference for newbies like us. Initially, we were a bit anxious about traveling with a large trailer in tow, but we overcame that after our first trip. In fact, on just the third day of our first trip after picking up the LV, we were told that we looked like pros backing into our site. I didn’t want to let them know the truth.
Favorite Memory
Bringing our LV home from Santa Barbara and camping up the California, Oregon, and Washington coasts. It was spring, and the campsites were beautiful. We met up with friends along the way, which was fun too.
The LV Decision
There was no one defining moment. After spending several years thinking about getting an RV/trailer, attending RV shows, and researching various products, the technology and design features that Matthew and company at Living Vehicle put into the LV made it clear that this was the way to go for the ultimate in comfort and design when living off-grid.
How LV Changed our Lives
We are much more at ease in traveling to new areas with others and have deepened our relationships with friends and family through the experience. For us, it isn’t so much a lifestyle change as it is about being as comfortable as possible while experiencing nature in its environment. It made us want to travel more and get outside in nature.
Words to Live by - Live your dreams!
Life is better with family, friends, and pets. The most precious thing is family, friends, pets, and being outside in nature! Happiness is all of the above!
.jpg)
